Tag Archives: Culture

Turn on E! Entertainment, or MTV, and people like this will pop up in your face:

It is blatantly obvious that Reality TV is taking over the entertainment world. This genre seems to be replacing the sitcom craze of the 90s, but will it ever measure up? At least the sitcoms were funny, less superficial, and they didn’t give off the impression that anything happening on the show is remotely close to reality.

I read an interesting article which basically trashed reality TV to bits. The author (who’s name is unknown) wrote that reality TV is a pathetic excuse for media, and that “85% [of the show] is not reality.” While I completely agree with them here, reality TV can only have an effect on those who take it too seriously. Of course the shows are not “reality”, and they are only given that name because cameras follow people around, documenting their lives. Take “The Hills” for example; I am a huge fan, but I know that the show is scripted. The producers would say “this happened, but act it out this way for the cameras”. In all fairness to them, this makes absolute sense. I mean, would you watch a show about people typing all day on their computers at work? Audiences want drama, and the best way to do this is to exaggerate the drama happening in people’s lives. If you were to critique a show like “The Hills”, people would go crazy if they constantly had that much drama in their lives. I can’t speak for everyone, but I only watched “The Hills” for the thrill of 22 minutes worth of drama. And, well…maybe for Brody Jenner too.

The only sad part of reality TV is that they make people famous for absolutely nothing. A prime example would be the Kardashians. Sure they were rich before “Keeping up with the Kardashians”, but the show allowed them to build an enormous empire for themselves. I don’t personally watch the show, because I agree with Barbara Walters when she told them they have no talent. Yes,the girls are beautiful, but what about them really stands out? This is a show that is based primarily on vanity, greed, and wealth, and many people are concerned that kids who watch that show are being given the wrong values in life. Fair enough, TV can be influential, but it up to the parents of those kids to give them the correct values, whatever those may be. If reality TV is effecting someone to the point where they are changing everything they believe in, then they have a much bigger problem on their hands.

I would say the only reality shows that come close to real life are “Teen Mom”, and”16 and Pregnant”, only because they serve as a good wake up call for teenage girls. Other than that, it seems as though reality TV is the best way to become famous now, no talent required. About 10 or 20 years ago, so many talented actors were breaking into Hollywood through sitcoms and movies, and tons of singers were making it big on shows like American Idol. Now, more and more, actors are singing and singers are acting, and random people are becoming famous for their money and botox injections.